When Romain Chancel first encountered this duplex at the top of a 1970s block in Neuilly (an elegant district on the outskirts of Paris), it was suffocating under an old-fashioned carpet and neo-17th-century woodwork. But the interior designer could immediately see the potential it offered his clients.
Despite its uninspiring decor, the space was blessed with long balconies, enviable views and, best of all, a huge roof terrace that, at 150 square metres, is almost as large as the apartment itself. ‘Having grown up surrounded by fields near Giverny, I attach paramount importance to the outdoors,’ he says. ‘I wanted to forget Paris; to feel like I am living on a cloud.’
Known for his laidback aesthetic – informed by classical architecture yet resolutely contemporary – Romain stripped away the decorating mistakes of the past and employed a palette of waxed concrete, pale oak and delicately gilded marble.
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It’s a combination that breathes a sensual softness into the rooms, while ceramic sculptures, brushed steel and a few terracotta notes gently punctuate the calm. Every space is rich in art and design, with the boldly contemporary elements sitting easily alongside 20th-century classics.
Upstairs, Romain has smartly included a stylish home bar in the winter-garden room, a space that, in the afternoon, is bathed in golden light on all sides. It’s the perfect spot to enjoy the apartment’s crowning glory: the roof terrace, which Romain remembers as being a ‘real virgin forest’ when he first encountered it.
After enlisting landscape gardener Didier Clément to transform the south-facing wasteland into an urban Eden, with rosemary, cypresses, olive trees and stone pines, the outdoor oasis, with views that stretch to the Eiffel Tower and beyond, now offers, according to its delighted owners, ‘a holiday flavour all year round’. And what could be better than that? romainchancel.com
